A 116-YEAR-OLD tractor is set to make history this month, when it is expected to sell at auction for up to £250,000.

The sale of the Ivel Agricultural Motor, regarded as one of the great British inventions, has been described as the most important tractor ever to go under the hammer in the UK.

But if it wasn’t for the efforts of a Ross-on-Wye vintage collector, the No 131 24hp model could have been consigned to scrap more than 60 years ago.

Tractor historian Stuart Gibbard says the history of the vintage machine can be traced right the way through from its building in 1903 to the present day, and its existence today owes much to Derek Hackett who saved it and many other classic vehicles in the 1950 and 60s.

“The Ivel’s importance to early tractor history cannot be overstated and this is an unparalleled opportunity to acquire a unique and famous machine with incomparable provenance,” he said.

“Such an opportunity is unlikely ever to be repeated.”

Just eight complete examples of the Ivel Agricultural Motor, the first commercial tractor in the UK, are known to remain worldwide and four of those are in museum collections.

And according to auctioneers Cheffins, No 131 is probably the most famous and best known of all the survivors, having been a star attraction at the National Tractor and Farm Museum for many years when it was displayed as part of the Hunday Collection.

Northumberland cattle farmer and vintage collector John Moffitt, a friend of Derek Hackett who bought the tractor from the Ross-on-Wye man, recorded the provenance of the Ivel in his book, The Ivel Story, published in 2003 and co-written with Stuart Gibbard.

The tractor, which takes its name from the River Ivel in Bedforshire near where its inventor lived, comes up for auction at the Cambridge Vintage Machinery Sale on Saturday, October 19.

And a Cheffins spo- kesman said: “The Ivel Agricultural Motor, the brainchild of visionary inventor Dan Albone, was the first commercially viable British tractor and the first to go into volume production.

“After experimenting with motorcycles, powered tricycles and even a car, Albone began developing a farm tractor which became the Ivel Agricultural Motor – tractor not being a commonly used term at the time.

“The Ivel was a simple three-wheel design with a single speed (forward or reverse) transmission). The engine was a two-cylinder horizontal unit of 24HP.

“After the first model was completed in 1902, Ivel Agricultural Motors Ltd was formed the same year.

“The Ivel Agricultural Motor was awarded numerous prizes at agricultural shows and widely feted by the local and national press.”

According to John Moffitt’s own research, No. 131 was used as a demonstrator and exhibited at the Royal Agricultural Show in London in 1903.

It was purchased by a farmer near Carlisle in 1905, who reported that it allowed him to sack three men and dispose of six horses.

Pioneer collector Derek Hackett bought it in 1958 and later sold his collection to John Moffitt to raise funds for his marriage in the 1970s.

“Derek had no wish to hawk the tractors around and was keen to sell the lot to one person,” said John. “After a long haggle, I purchased them for a figure I won’t repeat, although at the time it was considered a lot of money.”

After buying the tractor, he loaned it to the National Tractor & Farm Museum, and it was also loaned for a time to the Beamish Museum and underwent an extensive rebuild in 1994.

To celebrate its centenary in 2003, John embarked on a 100-mile charity drive which raised £120,142 for hospices throughout the country.

Following John’s death in 2008, it has been exhibited at various events in recent years and featured in various publications.

For more information, see www.cheffins.co.uk